24 January 2019 Page 1 of 3

Interrupted Basketweave

It’s quite likely that someone before me has written this down somewhere, but I can’t find it; so I’ve written down what Ithink was done to make the piece seen in this photo:

I'm using:

→Worsted weight yarn

→US and old UK #7 / 4.5mm

I probably should have used a larger size needle; my blankie will be a bit sturdier than I might prefer.

I believe the pictured blankie to have a garter stitch border; it’s just visible at the very bottom. I also think it’s been blocked to eliminate the stockinette ‘curl’; it may have been worked with heavier yarn and needles; impossible to tell without some point of reference.

In my sample, I’ve done:

  • Crochet hook cast on 60 = 10 for border + 50 for pattern. If you want it wider or narrower, add or subtract 20 stitches. Balanced stitch pattern(withOUT the border) is a multiple of 20 + 10.
  • 9 rows seed stitch with slipped stitch edges.
  • Below is listed just the pattern stitch with no mention of border stitches or selvedge treatment. Those can be added according to the individual knitter. (For that matter, the whole stitch pattern can be altered to personal preferences! Nothing is graven in stone.)

1st row (Right Side): Knit across.

2ndrow (Wrong Side):Purl across.

3rd row:k10/p10/k10/p10/k10

4th row:p10/k10/p10/k10/p10

5th row:k10/p10/k10/p10/k10

6th row:p10/k10/p10/k10/p10

7th row: Knit across.

8th row: Purl across.

9th row:p10/k10/p10/k10/p10

10th row:k10/p10/k10/p10/k10

11th row:p10/k10/p10/k10/p10

12th row:k10/p10/k10/p10/k10

Repeat these 12 rows to desired length, ending after …. (I haven’t gotten there yet, but I’m guessing it should be) … after a row 2 or 12.

As you can probably see from my scans, it is blocks of stockinette/reverse stockinette. As such, it does have pronounced curling. I think that makes it nice and plush-feeling. I also know that I worked it too tightly, and because it’s acrylic, it will remain highly ‘textured’ unless the acrylic is ‘killed’. I won’t do that.

Explanations of abovescan:

  • That blue safety-pin-type stitch marker is the indication of the ‘right side’. It’s no longer necessary, but I just didn’t bother putting it away.
  • I worked a 9 row bottom border of seed stitch with 5 stitches as the side borders, of which the first stitch of every row is slipped to make a chain selvedge.
  • I placed a stitch marker (and, yes, a white paper-clip) between the borders and the body, and between each ten stitches across.
  • If you notice the white thread hanging out of the knitting at the lower right hand corner, it’s attached to the marker. Each marker has such an anchoring thread. No more lost markers when the doorbell or telephone rings and cats spook just as I’m transferring a stitch marker between needles!

Above scan is the back side.